


The Greatest Battle

by NachtHexe



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Imagine Loki, Love, Romance, Sickness, brevity, bucketlist, threat of death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 05:23:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6691360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachtHexe/pseuds/NachtHexe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Imagine that, in order for Loki to understand the brevity of human life, he is asked to help a dying girl complete her bucket list. As a result of their time together, he falls in love with her, and searches all of the nine realms for a way to save her life.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Vengeance

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing a Loki fanfiction! This will also have irregular updates over the next few weeks, as I've exams going on :)

It’s been a long week. The city was still in shambles, new bodies being found every day. Very few were still alive, many weren’t even recognizable. There was only so much the rescue teams could do – they’ve never seen New York so destroyed, no one has. There wasn’t a street without blood, not a building without a part missing.

While the desperate attempts to bring the place back to life continued, the world’s mightiest heroes sat around the table in the Avengers Tower, called there by Fury. They sat silently waiting for S.H.I.E.L.D’s leader, not daring to look up at each other. Someone was missing. The seventh, behind the scenes Avenger. They dared not talk to each other, knowing that without her presence, they’ll erupt into an argument in no time. But where is she?

Nick then walked in, barely sparing a glance at the tired, beat up faces looking back at him. Taking his place at the top of the table, he began his report of how the city and its people were doing. Nothing new here, they’ve been hearing it all over the news for the past week.

“Can I interrupt you there, Nick? Seems like there’s an empty seat right here,” Tony Stark mentioned, holding his hand up to stop the Director’s voice, using the other hand to point at the cold place beside himself. “Where’s Agent Ryan?”

Fury sighed, knowing this was inevitable. Though he wasn’t one to offer sympathy, generally seen as the cold-hearted leader, he knew that what he was about to say was about to only further lower the team’s morale. They’ve had enough losses as it was, no one needed another kick to the gut. Letting his report file drop to the table, he leaned forward, leaning against the glass.

“Agent Ryan is currently no longer working for S.H.I.E.L.D, excused on the grounds of serious injury during action.” Fury spoke, his one good eye taking a long look at the expected surprise and anger. Tony sprang up out of his seat, but stayed silent, glaring at Nick.

“You mean to say Mia’s dead?” Captain America spoke up from the other end of the table. Fury turned from Tony to Rodgers.

“No, I mean to say she’s ‘seriously injured’.” He retorted. Before Captain could reply, Tony spoke up angrily.

“Any other important information you’d like to share a mere seven days too late?” Stark shot at him accusingly. How long has he known this, and why has he deemed it not important enough to bring to their attention?

Fury shook his head, and turned to leave the room. It was now Banner’s turn to speak up just as S.H.I.E.L.D’s authority was about to exit.

“Can you at least tell us what state she’s in, and where she is?”

“It’s all in the report, Doc.” Fury replied apathetically before leaving out the door. The second the words left his lips, Tony got up and rushed to search for any relevant information in the bulky folder. Flipping through multiple pages of destruction, he found a photograph with a bloody, bruised and clearly unconscious face. A familiar face.

The team watched silently as Iron Man read the notes attached, gritting his teeth angrily.

“I’ll kill that son of a bitch if I ever get the chance.” He said finally, discarding the papers back onto the table and following in Fury’s steps out of the room. No one else in the room dared to say anything, much less have a look at what got their fellow Avenger so bitter. And none of them denied that his words were true, for all of them.


	2. Too Young to Die

This wasn’t a regular mission – no, this was a massacre the likes of which I’ve never experienced. We’ve worked to save the country before, but this time, we were saving the entire planet. 

The last thing I remembered was a blast hitting my helicopter. I was one of the few agents who saw the point of flying to NYC to help the Avengers. The others were convinced – mostly thanks to Fury – that they could manage themselves. But I’ve known for too long to just leave them on their own.

After the blast hit me, the world went black ; I passed out even before I could feel the pain of the many bones I had to have broken due to the impact. The pain only hit me when I woke up in the sterile room, with wall of beeping machines surrounding my battered body.

The only movement I could make was with my eyeballs, but that didn’t allow for much. The only thing I could really get a better look at was the plain ceiling above my head. That was when my hearing picked up the sound of door opening somewhere to my right.

“Ah, I see you’ve awoken. Good evening, Miss. Ryan.” The middle-aged face of the speaker appeared above me, his hand moving to remove the oxygen mask covering my lips. I wet my lips, and asked him in a raspy voice what happened to me, as if I didn’t already know the answer.

“You have been hit with an alien weapon during the Battle of New York, Miss. This was your seventh day in a coma.” I nodded quietly to myself. Taking a few deep breaths – if I, an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, was being well looked after, that meant that we must have won. It was a shame I couldn’t be with my friends to celebrate. 

“When do I get out?” I enquired, my voice shaky but clear. The doctor’s face turned a bit sour at my words, and it was clear I wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.

“I’m afraid I haven’t explained your condition fully, Miss. Ryan. You see, the technology you have been injured with has far worse effects than our human guns do. Rather than affect just the part of the body that is hit, it affects all or at least the majority of it…. Long story short, Miss, your internal organs have been extremely weakened. Even with medication, I’m afraid you only have but a few months left.” 

His voice explained gravely, and even though he was trained to give people such news, his voice was laced with unmistakable sorrow. I just nodded again, doing my best to remain emotionless. 

“Does anyone know about this?” I choked out, feeing my extremely dry throat tighten even more. The man before me took a second to glance at his notes before answering my question.

“We couldn’t locate any family members in our database, so the only person informed has been you employer.” My only reply was an exhausted sigh, my eye lids closing over once more. The doctor made his way out without another word. 

And then I let the tears flow, for this first time in I don’t know how many years. I always knew the risks I took with my job, but I never thought I’d go out so slowly, and at such a young age. I was only 23, yet here I was, a pathetic shell of an Agent, awaiting inevitable death.   
And to make it worse, Fury knew. It would be a matter of time before he visited me, for the last time, to let me know that for obvious reasons, I was no longer a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. The tears only increased at that thought – my work was all I had, it was the only thing that mattered, and I just lost it.


	3. The Sentence

“I will speak to the prisoner alone.” Odin’s booming voice sounded through the throne room, followed by the shuffling of Frigga’s feet on the marble floors. Her son barely spared her a glance, but mentally wished she were still there. Nevertheless, his attention instead turned to the man before him ; the King of Asgard, the man he once called his father.

“You brought great shame not only to your family, but to the entire realm. Do you not understand the gravity of your actions?” Odin questioned, his voice loud but monotone all the same. He no longer felt anything for the boy before him.

“If conquering a kingdom for myself is a shame, then why are you not rotting away in a cell in Helheim?” Loki replied, smirking cockily at the All Father, who released a tired sigh, seeing he wasn’t getting anywhere with the prisoner.

“Your notions of being a king are ridiculous, Loki, and enough souls have paid for them. Your ego will be the death of you.” Loki could only laugh. Is death what Odin has planned for the fallen prince?

“If I’m for the axe then for mercy’s sake, just swing it!” He shouted at the King. Anything would be better than having Odin give him a big speech about his actions. What’s done is done – what is a talking to supposed to change?

“Frigga is the only reason you’re alive, and you will never see her again.” Odin spoke, watching with satisfaction as Loki’s face fell at the first hit. But he wasn’t done yet. Before the prisoner – for that’s all he was – could reply, Odin added ;

“In fact, you will not be seeing the realm again for a while.” Loki’s face only showed more confusion, but he tried hard to hide it under his anger as he demanded an explanation.

“Keeping you in the dungeons will do you no good, Loki. You must learn a lesson. This is why you will soon be sent to Midgard to live among the mortals and learn the true value and brevity of human life.”

Loki almost released a breath he was keeping in, with relief. So he wasn’t being exiled permanently. This had to be a trick – was Odin really so stupid to send him right back to Earth, the very realm he just tried to conquer? And even if so, were the humans really going to agree to this?

Loki didn’t ask any of these questions, so Odin just waved him off to be taken back to his cell for the time being. Once the guards have removed him from the throne room, the true prince of Asgard spoke up to his father from behind the throne. Unbeknownst to Odin, Thor heard his brother’s sentence.

“What are you doing, Father?” Thor spoke, full of doubt. Odin didn’t turn to look at him.

“This is the only way to teach him, son. If he is to ever be redeemed, you must go to Midgard immediately and make your friends agree to this.” Thor looked at Odin with desperation – the Avengers would sooner behead Loki themselves than accept him into their realm willingly. 

But before he could argue, his mother’s words sounded through his mind – ‘There is a purpose to everything your father does.’ With this in mind, Thor nodded to the king obediently and made his way out of the palace and headed for the Bifrost, praying to the Norns that his friends trust him. 

Because if there was any way to bring his brother back to him, then he was willing to take the risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya folks! :) I'm getting my summer holidays fairly soon, so there will be a lot more new content (as well as editing to old content) coming once I'm free :D


	4. Decision Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for taking so long to publish this. But hey, on the bright side, this is the last chapter of exposition, so from now on we'll be spending far more time with our main characters. :)

Thor’s return to earth was anticipated, but when the Avengers saw his expression, they knew he bore no good news. Has Loki escaped? Has something happened in Asgard while Odin’s son was fighting for earth? No one could tell as they led Thor off the Tower’s roof and into the meeting room in silence. 

“My father has a special punishment in mind for Loki, but it requires your assistance.” Thor finally spoke, glancing over at all his friends before stilling his eyes on Fury. Even the prince of Asgard acknowledged the director’s authority. 

The initial reaction to Thor’s words was positive – did he mean that they would get the chance to participate in the god’s punishment? Though they no doubt hated the idea of having to encounter Loki again, the thought of having a part in his punishment was extremely welcoming.

Meanwhile, Thor could almost read his friends’ minds. Granted, they weren’t entirely wrong – they will be playing a big part in his brother’s punishment – but he knew they wouldn’t like the way it was to be done. For the first time in a long while, nervousness gripped his gut.

“Alfather believes that a dungeon will be no punishment in comparison to Loki’s crimes, and that it’ll only sharpen his hatred towards life.” Odinson stated, his mind trying to soften the news as much as possible. Avengers sat silently, any hints of positivity gone from the room.

“He wants Loki to serve his sentence here, on Midgard.” He choked out finally. The faces around him were expressionless. Finally, the man in the trench coat spoke.

“So that he can kill another fifty thousand people?” His voice level but threatening. Thor inhaled, and explained as calmly as he could.

“Loki’s abilities would be far too restricted to do any harm. Odin believes that time amongst humans will teach him the value of your life.” He argued, desperately wanting his friends’ to see his father’s reasoning.

“Do you believe it?” Natasha spoke up. The blond giant looked at her for a moment, before giving her a sincere and confident yes.

The Avengers argued for a long while, with Tony being the loudest voice of opposition. Of course, Thor understood their concern and anger, but it still hurt to see how little they trust him. Finally, after nearly an hour of pointless shouts across the room, Fury stood up and asked.

“Alright, Thor. So you say he’d be restricted? No magic, no outside contact?” At this point Thor could only nod.

“Please tell me you’re not seriously considering this, Fury!” Tony spoke up, getting an approval from almost everyone in the room. Fury thought for a moment, before stating gravely.

“I’ll allow it, under one condition.” The angry, loud arguments around him increase momentarily, until Thor says that he’ll agree to anything.

“If Loki as much as breathes at someone the wrong way, he’ll be killed on the spot.” The room goes silent as Thor and Fury have a brief staring match. Finally, the Asgardian agreed. Fury got up to go, mentioning they’ll be ready to receive Loki next week, but Clint stops him.

“Who will be ready, Fury? Where do you want to keep him?” 

“Agent Ryan will be happy to accept the assignment.” Fury said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. If anything, he was doing her a favour – what was she to do with her short time left? Rot away at home, alone? The lack of involvement would kill her sooner than Loki could.

“Over my dead body.” Tony said dangerously low, standing up and glaring at S.H.I.E.L.D’s leader. Nick turned to look at Stark, and spoke to the whole team with a surprisingly angry voice.

“Mia may be sick, but she’s still one of my best trained people. You read the report. You know she has a limited time. You want to teach Loki the value of human life? Let him live with a young girl for the last months of her life. If that doesn’t teach him, nothing will.”


	5. The Future's Knocking

“Are you familiar with the concept of a bucket list?” A familiar voice rang through the small room, causing me to jump and drop my book onto the ground. I looked up to see, who else, but Fury himself. It was an expected but dreaded visit. I hated being seen like this, so useless I couldn’t even reach down to pick up the novel off the floor, because the 50 stitches on my abdomen refused to let me. 

My ex-boss picked it up for me, placing it back in my hands. I nodded a thanks, but didn’t say anything. He glanced over me briefly, before repeating his question.

“Yes sir, I have.” I answered, trying to keep the old power in my voice, but of course it was a poor attempt. 

“Start writing one up, then.” He stated almost casually, picking up my medical records hanging on the bed-frame. 

“Why?” I questioned, confused. He put the folder back in its place and looked at me, a glint of happiness playing in his one good eye – a phenomena I’ve never seen in the man. 

“It will play a big part in your next mission.” At this my jaw involuntarily dropped, and I sat up to the best of my abilities. Fury read my body language perfectly.

“Did you think I’d give up on you, Agent? Give me some credit.” He spoke with a laugh in his voice, another thing I have never heard from him in my entire time working for him. And I pretty much grew up with the agency.

“I’m going back in the field?” I asked hopefully, ignoring completely the pathetic whimpering that accompanied the words coming out of my throat. 

“Not exactly.” 

 

\---------------

 

As S.H.I.E.L.D’s Director was explaining her last assignment to Mia, another such meeting was taking place in the city of gold. It involved Asgard’s Queen and the God of the Fallen, as the Aesir came to call him in mockery.

Frigga entered his cell, not entirely sure of what she was to say to her child. She stood in the doorway, hearing it close behind her. Loki sat with his back to her, ignoring her presence in the surprisingly comfortable silence. Eventually the room filled with the sound of her slippers moving her over to the dark haired figure. 

“How are you fairing?” She asked softly, giving away her exhaustion. Little did the Asgardians know, it took the Queen a lot of arguing to convince Odin to let Loki’s punishment stand for something, teach him a lesson rather than let him be eaten up entirely by his demons. 

An unexpected laughter rippled through the small, cold room. Loki turned to look at the woman, a humorless grin plastered on his face. The grin of a madman who’s lost all hope. Though she did now show it, a pang of doubt hit the queen like never before. But she wouldn’t allow herself to lose her hope in her younger son, she couldn’t. 

“Perhaps it is the population of Midgard whom you should be asking, Mother.” The last word was almost spat out. Frigga tightened her lips into a straight line, looking her son straight in the eye.

“From what I hear, they are already on the steady road to recovery. They are a strong species, Loki, do not underestimate them.” She spoke with her usual wisdom of the All Mother. Loki’s only reply was a snicker. To most it would sound sinister, but she saw past that.

Loki didn’t know what to tell her. He was too over-whelmed by his unexpected sentence. If you were to put a dagger to his neck and demanded that he tells you what his plan was once he got to Earth, he wouldn’t be able to tell you even if he wanted to. Would he try to take over those apes again? Or should he just go back to the basics and cause some mischief, let them believe he was harmless, in hopes Odin restores his powers back? And what then? So many questions, so many options….

“It may mean nothing to you, but I have faith.” Frigga stated, causing Loki to whip his head back to look at her, taking in the glory of the Gods practically radiating off of her. 

“Faith in what?” He questioned, but she could once again see through the venom in his words. She went up to him, and placed a soothing hand on his cheek. He half expected her to glimmer and disappear at the touch, but instead he felt the real warmth of her skin. She was really there, and not just a projection. 

“In you, in my son. In the boy who preferred to groom the horses rather than ride them into mock battles. In the boy that would rather read scrolls under Idunn’s golden tree than exercise with wooden swords. In fact, I believe some of those scrolls your father brought you as a gift from Midgard, when he travelled it as a wanderer.” 

And just like that, Loki, the Fallen God, was at a loss for words. He stared into his mother’s shimmering eyes, seeing the young, innocent boy looking back at him in the reflection. Could it be that his mother has awakened in him a part which he deemed long dead? He could still feel the hatred and anger, but something has changed. Frigga saw it too, as she left soundlessly, letting her son ponder upon the discovery of this seed of hope inside him. 

Little did he know, on a whole other branch of Yggdrasil, a young woman has agreed to spend the last months of her life helping him find himself, the playful god he was made to be.


	6. The Meeting & The First Meal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally in two parts, but AO3 doesn't really allow for split chapters, so here we have a nice long one. I have now worked out a writing and posting schedule, and will do my best to post updates every Friday.

Three weeks after Fury visited me in the hospital, I was standing on the roof of Avenger’s Tower. Using the term ‘standing’ loosely, as I couldn’t do so without two crutches holding me up, the cold metal digging into my palms as we awaited the arrival of the two gods.

The atmosphere was tense. I couldn’t tell if the Avengers were angry with me or just concerned for me. Either way, it was no secret they were against the arrangement, and there was no doubt in my mind that they’ll be breathing down my neck for the whole duration of Loki’s stay. I sighed at the thought, wondering, for the first time, if maybe Fury over-estimated my abilities for the assignment given.

After several silent moments of anticipation, a beam of light broke from the sky and onto the landing, no doubt scorching it with Nordic symbols (an interesting detail I discovered from Coulson’s report from New Mexico). This didn’t last long, and at last we were presented with two tall figures standing before us, untouched by the fire they came from.

Thor glanced around, taking a step towards us, pulling his chained brother behind him. Neither of them got far, as a pack of suited agents immediately swarmed around the two. Thor appeared to be a bit surprised at the cold welcome, while Loki just seemed annoyed. Not that I blamed him, I found the ordeal to be completely unnecessary. Thankfully, Fury called the swarm off quickly and led us all back inside.

“Lady Ryan, it’s good to see you again. How’s your health?” Thor asked, smiling at me warmly as we walked back. His brother didn’t even look at me, instead taking in the re-built tower and new technology around him. I ignored him, instead looking up at Thor while trying to keep up with him.

“Thor, we talked about this, it’s Mia.” I laughed a bit, my hard Agent attitude melting away. Thor may have been the most powerful of the Avengers – a god, after all – but around friends, he was by far the kindest and sweetest. Before he could pursue his question, we were seated at the conference table.

“Considering that we’re on the brink of another useless argument,” Fury spoke loudly, looking specifically at Tony, “I’ll keep this short.” He then turned to where Loki, Thor and I sat up front.

“Agent Ryan, your apartment is all set and ready for you to move back in. The whole place is covered in cameras and mics, as well as bits and bobs that Thor claims will help keep you safe from your guest.” I glanced back at Loki, seeing the smallest of smirks on his face. Thor’s Asgardian messenger, S.H.I.E.L.D and I have been talking about the works being done in my place for weeks. Both assured me that my apartment was currently one of the safest place on the planet, but now that I looked at the god, I was having my doubts.

Fury went on to explain the basics of the arrangement, but I have head them so many times before that I zoned out – we were to report to the Tower everyday for the first month of Loki’s stay, and once a week on the second month. Loki’s powers have been harnessed and locked away by Odin, so short of mortality and muscle strength there was nothing ‘godly’ about him, etc. Eventually, almost hour later, we finally filled into a black SUV and were off to my two room apartment in NYC. I was about to share my home with a guy with whom I haven’t even been allowed to exchange a word with yet. Even in the car, we were seated with Thor between the two of us. And Loki still hasn’t even looked at me - as far as I knew anyway. 

When we reached the block containing my apartment, I decided that enough was enough and shooed away the agents who insisted on walking us right up to my door. We reached a compromise, where they walked us to the elevator, and then finally left hesitantly. Once the metal door slid closed, I turned to have a better look at my guest. He was still clad in his Asgardian armor, very similar to the one he wore during the invasion. I was aware that S.H.I.E.L.D stacked my apartment with some basic articles of clothing, but there was no doubt in my mind a shopping trip with the god would be necessary.

Loki must’ve noticed that I was eyeing him, because he turned his head and took a better look at me in return. Eventually our eyes met, and a silent battle of intimidation began. It didn’t last long, as a ding sounded through the small space and the door opened to my – our – floor. I let Loki go ahead of me so I could keep an eye on him, and was mildly surprised to see a smile flash on his face as he looked away from me and onto the corridor ahead. 

‘Not bad for a first encounter,” I thought to myself as I opened the door and gestured for him to go ahead. His smile from the elevator returned.

“Ladies first.” He said, nodding towards the door. I laughed softly and murmured under my breath, “Asgardians.” 

Once inside, I locked the door with all five locks installed by the agency. I turned back to look at the god, who was standing rather awkwardly in the small space, looking around him with curiosity. I looked at him for a moment, assessing the situation. He expressed no signs of hostility, so it was only fair to let him feel at least somewhat welcome. I always believed in rehabilitating our prisoners, not just punishing them.

“Feel free to explore, have a look around.” Loki turned to look at me, searching for a catch in my words. I shrugged my shoulders, acting as casual as possible considering the circumstances, and brushed pass him into the small kitchen. 

“Do gods eat?” I asked over my shoulder, gazing into the fridge. It was obvious Tony was the one responsible for the shopping – I lived in the Tower long enough for him to catch onto my habits. Loki came into the room, still looking around like the confused alien that he was.

“You’ll find our dietary needs very different from each other.” He spoke calmly, currently gazing with huge interest at the sorcery of the fridge. It was hard not to smile at his unintentional childishness. 

“But a sandwich won’t kill you?” I questioned, already taking out the bread and various ingredients. I could feel Loki’s eyes studying my actions closely.

“It’s hard to kill a god, I can assure you food stands no chance. Especially that of Midgard.” He spat out the last word with a lot of disregard and hatred. I knew, from the mythology books I read in preparation for the ‘mission’, that Midgard was the Norse word for Earth, and sighed at Loki’s words. No one ever said this would be easy.

“We’ll have to work on that attitude of yours.” I told him as I put two glasses and plates on the kitchen table. Loki’s expression was rather offended, and almost shocked. Smiling brightly, I asked him to have a seat as I laid samples of various cheeses, hams and spreads on the table, alongside the neatly cut bread and a bottle of an unnecessarily expensive wine. It wasn’t a feast, per se, but a nice meal to let him try out what humanity had to offer. 

Loki obediently took the seat, and copied my actions as I ate my first home meal since the attack. His attack. Again, I almost laughed at how ridiculous the situation was – I was seated at the table with the worst criminal of the 21st century, and what were we doing? Eating bloody sandwiches.

“I never got your name.” He spoke up after swallowing his first bite. The food didn’t seem to make much of an impact on his taste buds, apparently. 

“Mia Ryan, at your service.” I replied, presenting my hand across the table. Much to my surprise, instead of shaking it, he took it in his and kissed it. I sat there, looking at him in surprise. An amused grin appeared on his face once again.

“I am an Asgardian prince, did you expect me not to have manners?”


	7. The Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this chapter depends a lot on italic and bold writing, but I'm not sure how to do that on AO3. Advise/help much appreciated!

This wasn’t a regular mission – no, this was a massacre the likes of which I’ve never experienced.

One thing training cannot prepare you for is the noise. The sounds of real civilians, screaming in real confusion and real pain. As agents, we can keep quiet even during torture, but everyday people cannot – especially when they’re stuck in a pile of rubble, surrounded by friends, colleagues, family members, strangers, either dead or dying.

Somehow, I found myself on the ground. I distinctively remember being in the jet the whole time. How I got down to the street level, I couldn’t remember. Hell, I couldn’t remember anything. Why are the people around me crying? Why are they covered in blood and dirt? Why are the buildings in pieces? What the hell is happening? Why does my stomach hurt so much? Why are my legs so heavy? What…

“Mia!” 

My eyes opened instantly at the shouting of my name. I sat up, putting my head in my hands as my lungs fought for air. This took far longer than I’d want it to, but my lungs weren’t the machines I once perceived them to be. 

“…I’m afraid you only have but a few months left.”

I turned to look at Loki. His face was emotionless, but his hands appeared to be in preparation to catch me if I fell off the bed. Seemingly out of nowhere, anger got to me – what has it come to, that I need to be helped by the villain?

“I thought I told you not to come into my room.” I said stated sternly, throwing my legs over the opposite side of the bed.

“You were screaming in agony, I thought there was an intruder-“

“It wasn’t me screaming, it was them!” I yelled at him, to which he cocked his head to the side. I didn’t enjoy being studied, so I tried to stand up instead. This of course backfired as my knees gave out and I fell forward. In seconds, Loki was there to catch me before my face collided with the floor. 

As soon as he settled me back on the bed, I pushed his hands away. Thankfully, he gave me the much needed personal space. 

“Who are they, Mia?” Loki asked, surprisingly gently, sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. I looked at him, and they echoed in my mind – the desperate cries of the people he murdered in cold blood. Hell, from the photos I saw, he was smiling.

I gulped, before turning to look at him. My loathing towards him at that exact moment seemed to actually somewhat faze him, as he visibly squirmed in his seat. 

“You don’t remember them?” My voice was barely above a whisper, sounding far more threatening than any louder volume one could muster. Of course, no matter how uncomfortable I might have made the god, he’d never be downright afraid of me. 

“You had a nightmare, Mia-“ 

“That’s Agent Ryan for you.” I interrupted him. He released a displeased sigh, but continued nevertheless.

“- whomever you thought you saw, they’re not real.” I practically ripped my crutches off of their stand by the side of the bed, and wobbled over to him with as much dignity as I could. I stuck my face in his, not caring about how it looked, and spoke gravely,

“Oh, they’re real alright. Is that how you sleep at night? By convincing yourself they weren’t there?” Loki looked at me with pained eyes, but I couldn’t tell if my actions or my words were what caused the pain. Either way, when he went to stand up, I gave him the space to do so.

He looked me deadly in the eye, but I was far too into my breakdown to feel how vulnerable I really was in that moment. I stood straight, prepared for whatever insult or threat he might throw my way. To my surprise (and Loki was full of those, as I have discovered), he stated simply,

“Go back to sleep, Agent.” With that he exited the room, leaving me slightly open mouthed, still holding onto my crutches pitifully. I stood like that for what felt like hours, listening to him entering his bedroom next door and getting into bed. Unlike me, he didn’t close his door.


	8. No Chic-Flick Moments

Day two and I was already failing at my last ever mission. 

I didn’t sleep after Loki left my room, I instead sat on my bed trying to cool off. It wasn’t my first outburst. The doctor said it’s PTSD, rarely seen in a person my age. As if my body wasn’t failing me enough already, I couldn’t trust my mind now either.

After several hours of this stewing, I saw the first hints of a sunrise break through the curtains and went to the kitchen. I presumed it would a few hours before the god would wake up, but I had to occupy myself with something before I went bananas. So, with a hot coffee, I set out to bake a batch of scones. The simple routine of mixing and kneading the ingredients gave my mind some healthy peace. I let myself drift so far away that I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone in the kitchen until I turned to put the tray in the oven.

Loki didn’t look at me with the dislike I expected. I silently placed the pastries to bake before acknowledging his presence.

“Good morning.” I spoke wearily, leaning against the counter. Loki nodded at me from his seat, but said nothing more. I chewed my lip for several long moments before making another attempt at a conversation.

“Look, about last-“ Loki’s passive-aggressive voice cut me off before I could get my explanation out.

“Forget it, Agent.” I sighed, realizing that I screwed up more than I originally thought. I moved to sit in front of Loki. 

“I’m sorry, and I mean it. I’m supposed to teach you to forgive yourself, but I can’t do that if I treat you like a… a typical killer.” Loki’s look turned from aggravated to questioning.

“That’s not what I’ve been told.” I nodded.

“You can’t learn to appreciate humanity if you keep viewing us as ‘those guys you tried to kill once’. You need to forgive and move on.” I studied his reaction to my words. As advanced as Asgardians are supposed to be, this one didn’t seem to catch onto my sentiment. I once again wondered if I haven’t, for the first time in my professional life, taken on something that was too big for me. 

“I don’t understand what you mean. How is-“ Loki started, but I dismissed him with a wave of my hand.

“You’ll understand eventually. I say, let’s not start the morning with the chic-flick speech. We’ve enough on our schedule as it is.” The god stopped his questioning, and instead asked what this ‘schedule’ I spoke of was. I told him that first, we had to be at S.H.I.EL.D by 10am for our daily report, then we had to go shopping, mostly for Loki’s necessities. Loki, the prince that he is, couldn’t comprehend the idea of having to go out and purchasing pre-made clothing. I smiled for the first time since last evening, explaining the process to him once again, slower, in great detail.

“You sound far too enthusiastic about such a torturous task.” He complained, and I could only laugh motherly, even going as far as patting him on the hand, telling him he’ll learn to love it as much as I did. Though Loki clearly didn’t appreciate me treating him like a child, his expression turned into from annoyed to smug in a matter of seconds. I searched his face for an explanation. 

“Agent, I believe you burned the breakfast.”


	9. Hello Again, Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, and for making this short. I'm trying to write three chapters in one day, and it's more difficult that I thought.

After my scones unfortunately ended up in the bin, we instead settled for cereal, much to the god’s offence. I laughed his anger off, and told him we didn’t have time to prepare anything else, so it’s either that or going to the Tower on an empty stomach. Reluctantly, he swallowed a spoonful, shrugged to himself and said nothing else until his bowl was emptied. He asked for a refill, and I was about to oblige happily when we heard a knock at the door. Both of us released an annoyed groan.

I opened the door to reveal four black-clad agents. Before I could speak a word, three attempted to get past me to grab the god. Sighing in annoyance, quickly shifted my crutches so that two of the suited morons tripped on them, while another stumbled while trying to get over his fallen mates. The fourth agent stood at the door expressionless, watching the whole ordeal. 

“I don’t remember inviting you in, fellas.” I spoke to the three men on the ground, crossing my arms. Loki couldn’t contain his laughter, and the agents made it clear they wanted to do nothing more than throw themselves at him with their guns. While they got off the ground, I quickly grabbed Loki’s arm and let the fourth agent lead us out into the car. 

“New recruits?” I asked our minder, for the lack of a better word. Clearly ashamed of the events, he just nodded stiffly and said nothing else. Seconds later, the three others joined us in the car and we drove off. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Once we stopped at the private parking at the entrance to the tower, Loki and I were roughly separated – Loki was grabbed by the three ‘new recruits’, while I was left in the car with the driver and fourth agent. I turned to him to complain about Loki’s treatment, but the agent stunned me by handing me something I thought I’d never see again. My badge. 

“You’ll need it for clearance.” He said. It was a lie, we both knew – I was one of the privileged few who could enter the tower any time of day or night with no identification whatsoever, but the gift was a very meaningful one. I was on a mission, I was still a part of agency. I nodded thankfully to the agent before getting out of the car. Another suited man met me at the door and led me in.

The second the elevator stopped at the 50th floor – the conference/ living room – I could hear the familiar voices of the Avengers, and got surprisingly nervous. Even though I have been working with S.H.I.ELD and have been to the Tower since I got out of the hospital, the only two of the Avengers I’ve had a chance to see were Tony and Thor. The others were working. 

The door opened, and suddenly the talking stopped. The five men and one woman rushed towards me, and I almost stumbled with the weight of the bodies on me. Only Stark held back, to embrace me last. 

“Good to see you again, kiddo.” He spoke finally, once the others finally had their fill of hugging. I smiled. 

“Good to see you guys.” I said, looking around at the faces around me. Steve had a small, cute smile on. Clint’s face mirrored his, while Natasha had a satisfied smirk on her face. Thor, as usual, was grinning like a goof. Tony pretended to look relaxed, but his eyes revealed he was still overjoyed to see me. Only Bruce had a concerned expression as he took in my pale skin and skinny frame supported by crutches.

Before any one else in the room could speak up, a throat cleared itself behind us. I turned to look at my boss, Director Fury. I’ve never been so happy to see him. 

“Hello back, Agent Ryan.”


End file.
